Amalgam carrier



July 4, 1944.

l. E. SIQVELAND 2,352,808

AMALGAM CARRIER Filed Aug. 2, 1941 2 Sheet-Sheet 1 I 13 Fl .1 i 4 7 15 JVM'Z fisW BY a ATTORNEY July 4, 1944. I. SI VELAND 2,352,808

AMALGAM CARRIER Filed Aug. 2, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNVEhlTOR ATTORNEY Patented July 4, 1944 2,352,808 AMALGAM CARRIER. j I Ivar E. Siqveland, St. PauL'Minn. Application August 2, 1941, Serial No.405,201

' 4 Claims. 31. 32-436) into the mouth, open a small fiat bladed instrument and to drop the amalgam into place in the cavity. This method is rendered diff cult by the fact that the amalgam easily falls from'the blade, and the slightest'irregular movement of the hand while carrying the amalgam into place. will prematurely drop the amalgam from the blade. A second method sometimes used is to place the amalgam into a holder of somewhat the general shape of a pencil, having a plunger therein by means of which the amalgam can be extruded from the holder. With the instruments now in common use it is difiicult to fill cavities located on certain surfaces of the teeth because of the shape of the holder. Furthermore suchinstruments are somewhat difficult to clean, and unless cleaned promptly after use they require cons'iderable labor in removing the excess remnants of hardened amalgam left thereupon.

The object of the present invention is to provide an amalgam carrier of extremely simple design by means of which the amalgam can be carried into proper position and extruded into the cavity in any desired amount. The carrier is so designed as to permit extrusion of the amalgam in almost any direction so that virtually any cavity may be filled regardless Of the position of the cavity in the tooth. In order to accomplish this result, the cylinder in which the amalgam is carried extends angularly from the handle of the device, so that byturning the handle in various positions, the cylinder may be directed toward a cavity in virtually any part of any teeth.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an extremely simple carrier which includes an extremely small number of parts and which accordingly can be manufactured at a low cost.

lation of the handle to decrease the size of the.

fled form of amalgam carrier;

loop, the plunger can be operated to extrude amalgam from the cylinder. 7

A feature of the preferred forms of my invention lies in the provision of a replaceable cylinder and plunger so that various sizes of plungers and cylinders may be used'to best fit the cavity to be filled. For large cavities it is usually preferred to use a cylinder of large diametenwhile for smaller cavities a smaller cylinder will suffice. Thus approximately the proper amount or amalgam can be ejected into the cavities to properly fill'the same. r

A further feature of my invention'lies in the provision of an amalgam carrier which embodies a cylinder and plunger which is so arranged that the plunger may" be used for tamping down the amalgam when placed in thecavity. In one position of the-plunger this plunger is extended entirely through the cylinder to project beyond the end of the same, and 'to therefore act as a tamping or hammering means for forcing the amalgam firmly into the cavity.

A further feature of my invention lies in the provision of a finger actuated mechanism which may be used to draw together the opposed sides of the loop handle previously described. Notches are provided in the handle so as to hold the plunger in a certain desired relation to the bandle when the plunger is to be used as a tamping means. These and other objects and novel features of my invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification andclaims.

Inthe drawings forming a partofmy specification: I

Figure l is a sideelevation view of an amalgam carrier showing my new construction.

Figure 2 is a View similar to Figure 1, showing the carrier in amalgam carrying position.

Figure 3 is a viewsimilarto Figures 1 and 2 showing the plunger extending completely through the cylinder in position for use as an amalgam tamping device.

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the handle, the position of the section being indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 2. I

Figure 5 is a perspective View of the handle ends, the plunger, and the amalgam carrying Figure 8 isan elevation view of another modi Figure 9 is a top plan view of the carrier illustrated in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a side elevation view of the plunger used in conjunction with the carrier illustrated in Figures 8 and 9.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the amalgam carrying cylinder.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a modified form of plunger and plunger guiding mechanism.

Figure 13 is a sectional view on the line I3-I3 of Figure 12. Y

The amalgam carrier A and its associated parts are illustrated in Figures 1 through 6 of the drawmgs. is generally of loop shape and which is formed of a single strip or bar of resilient material, such as spring steel, or the like, or any other suitable material. The handle I is formed by this single strip which is folded intermediate its ends at I I.

and which includes a pair of opposed arms I2 and I3. The arm I3 is provided with an end portion I4 designed to engage within the spring socket I5 secured to the plunger cylinder I6. The plunger cylinder I6 extends at substantially right angles to the axis of the end I4 of the handle member I 3, and is designed to support the plunger IT. The spring socket I5, as best illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings, comprises a split sleeve forming a pair of spring lips I9 which engage the portion I'4 of the handle member I3 under spring tension.

The end of the handle member I2 is flattened, as indicated at 2B, and a longitudinally extending slot 2| in this flattened end 20 forms a bifurcated arm designed to engage the plunger IT. The plunger I7 is provided with a circumferential slot 22 near the upper extremity. thereof which engages the flattened portion '26 of the handle. The diameter ofthe plunger I? at the base of the slot 22 is of proper dimensions to fit Within the slot ZI, while the remainder of the plunger is of too great diameter to fit in this slot. Thus the slot 22 provides a means of preventing longitudinal movement of the plunger with respect to the flattened end 20, but permits movement of this plunger longitudinally of the slot 2|.

A substantially U-shaped wire loop has its closed end 24 extending through the loop arm I3 of the handle I 9, and the ends of this U- shaped loop 23 are embraced within a flattened tubular operating member 25. A latch element 26 also enclosed within theflattened tubular member 25 projects therefrom toward the handle I2 and engages the surface of this handle member. The engagement of the latching element 26 with the surface of the handle portion I2 of the handle I0 limits the movement of the arms in their separation. By exerting pressure against the operating element 25, the U shaped loop 23 may be pivoted in either direction. As indicated in Figure 1 of the drawings, this movement acts to draw the handle portions I2 and I3 toward one another against natural tension of the handle to urge these ends apart. As the handle elements I2 and I3 are moved together, the plunger I! is forced into the cylinder I6, thus extruding any amalgam within the carrier out of the same. A pair of notches 2] are formed in the handle element I2, so as to engage the latch member 26 to indicate when the plunger I! has extruded all of the amalgam from the cylinder. A third notch 29 engages the latch. member 26 when the loop 23 is pivoted to a greater extent so as to hold the plunger I1 projecting beyond the cyl- The carrier A includes a handle III which inder I6 to act as a tamping means for the amalgam.

The operation of the amalgam carrier thus described is believed obvious from the foregoing explanation. With the plunger I1 in the position illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings, the

cylinder I6 is filled with amalgam to the extent 7 which the plunger I! will permit. The carrier is then placed with the cylinder I6 adjacent the cavity to be filled, and pressure is exerted against the actuating member 25 on the loop 23. The latch member 26 bears against the upper surface of the handle member I2, pulling this handle member toward the opposite handle member I3. Such pressure acts to move the plunger I! in the cylinder I6 to extract any desired amount of amalgam therefrom. When the cylinder I6 has been depleted of its supply of amalgam, the

latch member 26 engages into one of the notches 21, indicating that the cylinder is empty, By pivoting the loop 23 into the position illustrated in Figure 3, the end of the plunger may be used as a tamping means to press or force the amal-r gam into the cavity. As the plunger I1 and the cylinder I6 are only frictionally supported on the ends of the handle Ii], the proper size plunger and cylinder may be used to properly fill .the cavity. A larger cylinder and plunger may be used for large cavities and smaller cylinders and smaller plungers may be used for smaller cavities.

In Figure 7 of the drawings,I disclose a' simi lar form of construction in which the cylinder and plunger are not replaceable. Inthis form of construction the handle 30'is formed ofaloop or strip'of material bent into a loop providing a pair of opposed loop arms or handle arm p'ortions 3I and 32, which are connected by a central bend 33. A hollow tubular cylinder '34 is integrally secured to the arm 32 by a slightly. re-j silient connecting portion 35 to permit slight changes in angularity to take place. A plunger 36 is riveted or otherwise affixed. at '31 tofthe handle element 3| and this plunger '36 is de-v signed to reciprocate within the cylinder 34., The U-shaped loop 39 is pivoted at46 to the handle element 32 and the ends of the loop 39 arejembraced within a hollow flat tubular element 4|." A latching element 42 projects from" the actuat ing device 4| and is designed to engage the upper surface of the handle element 3|. A p air of notches 43 are provided in this upper surface of the handle element 3I into which the latching or engaging elements 42 may drop when the: plunger 36 has forced all of the amalgam 'frorrr the cylinder 34. An additional notch 44 i -br'o; vided into which the-latch element 42 engages f upon further pivoting of the loop 39 in one direction, so as to holdthe plunger 36 projecting" beyond the cylinder 34 so that this plungerend may be used for tamping purposes.

In Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings Idisclo se another form of construction which is somewhat more complicated and cumbersome than the construction previously described. In this construe tion, I employ a pair of tong like levers 45 and 4B which are closed and are pivotally connected at bifurcated, as best illustrated in Figure9-of-thef drawings, toreceive the flattened endSli of plunger 56. The plunger 56 is pivotally connected at 51 to the arm 53.

The socket is designed to frictionally engage the arm 59 which supports the cylinder 60, extending at substantially right angles from the arm. The cylinder 60 is hollow to receive the plunger 56 and amalgam may be forced from the cylinder 60 by this plunger 56.

To limit the separation of the sockets 50 and 5!, I provide a hook-shaped connecting element 6| which engages about a cross bar 62 on the socket 5| of the handle 45, and which extends through the socket end 50 of the handle 46. The hook-shaped element is threaded at B3 to receive an adjusting nut 64, by means of which the separation of the jaw or socket ends of the handles 45 and 46 may be regulated.

In Figures 12 and 13 of the drawings I disclose a slightly different form of construction in which the amalgam is carried between a pair of side guides, rather than within a cylinder. The arm 65 is bifurcated at its end to provide a pair of side guides 66. The flattened plunger 61 reciprocates between the guides 66 so as to force any amalgam carried therebetween into the cavity.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my amalgam carrier and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiments thereof, I desire to have it understood that these are only illustrative of a means of carrying out my invention, and that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. An amalgam carrier comprising a pair of handle elements connected together, a cylinder, a hollow resilient socket on said cylinder designed to frictionally receive and substantially enclose one end of one of said handle elements, a plunger removably secured adjacent one of the other of said handle elements, said plunger being reciprocable in said cylinder, and said cylinder and plunger being simultaneously removable as a unit from the respective arms.

2. An amalgam carrier comprising a substantially U-shaped handle, amalgam carrying means on one end of said handle, a plunger on the other of said handles cooperable with said amalgam carrying means to force amalgam therefrom, a loop on one side of said handle engageable over the other side of said handle and operable when pivoted to draw said handle ends together, the other side of said handle including notch means engageable with said loop to hold said carrier in predetermined relationship.

3. An amalgam carrier comprising a U-s-haped handle having a hollow cylinder secured to one end thereof and angularly with relation thereto, a plunger secured to the other end of said handle, said plunger being slidable in said hollow cylinder and being of a length to project therethrough,

operating means pivoted to one side of said handle and engageable over the other side of said handle to limit separation of the sides of said handle, and a series of notches in said other side of said handle arranged to be successively engaged by said operating member to hold said plunger in predetermined relation with respect to said cylinder.

4. An amalgam carrier comprising a substantially U-shaped handle, a hollow cylinder secured to one end of said handle to extend angularly therefrom, a plunger secured to the other end of said handle to engage in said hollow cylinder, an operating member pivotally secured to one side of said U-shaped handle and engageable over the other side thereof to limit separation of the sides of said handle, said operating member being pivotal to draw the sides of the handle together, and a series of shoulders in the side of said handle over which said operating element engages to engage said operating member to lock the sides of said handle together.

IVAR E. SIQVELAND. 

